ebb and flow: a rhythmic or recurrent pattern of coming and going or decline and regrowth. waves crashing over and over. continuous. never ending. one after another in a rhythmic and recurrent pattern. mesmerizing. comforting. soothing. something akin to the reassuring steadiness of a heartbeat. water flows up onto rocks or sand, then is drawn back into the ocean as another wave crashes over. the ebb and flow of the ocean. the ebb and flow of life.
seasons exist when the ebb simply overwhelms the flow. the motion seems to be d o w n w a r d rather than upward. backward rather than forward. and in all honesty, I much prefer the season of the flow over the season of the ebb. yet the longer I live the more clearly I see that if life was always flowing with no ebb, the ocean would no longer stay within the boundary of the ocean. the Creator of the oceans knows all and understands. He holds our aching hearts when life feels broken and fractured and spinning out of control. He gently whispers words of assurance: "I saw you before you were born. Every day of your life was recorded in My book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." Psalm 139:16 (pronouns changed) so rest in the sound of the waves crashing and know that His love holds you in the ebb and flow of life. and remember that His heartbeat underlies all of life.
The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does. Psalm 145:13 sometimes it is hard to keep believing. hard to keep believing that what you heard is what you heard. that still small voice gave you a promise. some promises are of life or death. some promises are of family or friendship. some promises are of purpose or place. and the list goes on. and on. you alone know your promise for it was imprinted on your heart. whether the words were nearly audible or a pressing on your spirit, or directly from His Word, or spoken over you, you knew. and you still know.
yet as time passes...days weeks months even years, the memory of when of where the promise was given, and perhaps even the promise itself, begins to fade. and you wonder if what you heard was what you really heard. or you wonder if God forgot or if God changed His mind. and you feel a sense of forgottenness. (and as a side note which really isn't a side note, is this not where the enemy tries to pull a chair up to the table of the heart and begin speaking lies?) and doubts creep in. I know, for I have been there. I also know because I am there. yet I know that I know that I know that God keeps His promises. gently He reminds that time and space as I understand is but a breath to Him. tenderly He reminds that He. sees. all. He. knows. all. and His promises and our prayers are eternal. they live on from generation to generation. and He looks in my eyes, reminding me that He is the God of surprises. He is far too creative and powerful and glorious and loving to be placed inside any box into which I try to place Him. in other words, the answer to the promise will most likely look much different than what my finite mind has pictured. and never will He go backward, for He is a God of forward motion. and He always keeps His promises.
